The lord has risen?

The past two weeks have been crazy at work.  I've worked literally all day everyday with the exception of Sunday, and if I wasn't at work I was at school, or driving to work.  The mass mayhem of dance pictures and Easter mini shoots is finally over....temporarily.  In three weeks we do it all over again with three times as many dancers. To say the least I've been tired.  Exhausted to the core.  I've been drinking unhealthy amounts of coffee and have had limited amounts of sleep.  And while at work my lab decided to chew on something new everyday.  I don't blame him I would be mad and destructive If my dotting mom ditched me for two weeks straight.  Enough bitching I'm extremely grateful for the hours and overtime because now I can finally pay off the wedding and start saving.  Today was my first real day off for a while.  I woke up at 7 and met my friend Laura and her family and joined them in Sunday mass.  This is the first time I've stepped foot into a church in four years.  I've never been one for religion.  I believe there is a higher power and some things just can't be explained by logic.  I was nervous and had no idea what to expect.  The second we walked into the door I was hugged and greeted by such kind warm people.  Everyone kept saying "the lord has risen. "  Apparently I was never filled in on the real meaning of Easter.  Every year I spend Easter with my brothers coloring and hiding eggs I don't usually spend it being thankful for Jesus.  I took a lot with me when I left mass this morning.  It really made me think.  We're so caught up in a society where believing in god is sometimes seen as uncool.  We're turned away from religion instead of leaning on it in times of need.  I have a hard time having faith in god.  I've seen amazing people go through awful horrible things that should never have happened to them.  People always say just put your trust in god blah blah blah.  I'm not going to put my trust in someone who allows bad things to happen to wonderful people while the ass holes get away scott free.  Sometimes I just don't understand.  I guess this is just one of those things I have to figure out on my own in due time.  On a lighter note I put a small chunk of change that I busted my ass for, into sprucing up my backyard!  In my opinion it looks immensely better and is now somewhere I want to be.  Getting stuff for our house and trying to make it a home really makes me miss slade.  As much fun as it is to do, it's way more fun when the person you love is helping you along the way.  We're getting close to homecoming though! Three more months and my husband comes home I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!  Here are a couple pictures of my new backyard digs and it was all relatively inexpensive!

Freelancing

As much as I love my job I desperately miss freelancing.  I never pictured myself working in a studio. I always felt like they were too limiting to what you can do and in a way it is.  Flash id unlike any studio I've ever been into.  Everyday I work I apply new poses, techniques etc. to my shoots but I miss the natural beauty of sun flares and vibrant colors that can only be found outside.  Some days when I browse pinterest I think to myself this is it in my "spare time" (I have non) I'm going to get back into photography and apply what I've learned to my style of shooting.  I miss having my beautiful friends at my photography disposal.  I can't tell you the amount of times I've called one of them up and put together a spur of the moment photo shoot 20 minutes later.  That freedom to do whatever I wanted with my camera and editing was amazing.  I didn't have to worry about whether the person I was shooting liked my style or the things I tried because they were my unjudging, do anything friends.  It took me three years of busting my ass to build such a successful and satisfied clientele.  I relied on my reputation to get bookings and it worked! Sorry for the vent I just really miss doing my own thing sometimes when it comes to photography.  I'm more than grateful for the shoots i still book even though I'm a state away.  Every time I go home I come back to Utah with more great shoots to edit and another loyal client.  I'm coming to terms with the fact that if I want to start doing my own photography in my spare time here I'm going top have to work from the ground up as frustrating as that is it's also exciting.  I'm ready to start trying new things with the friends I have here and with my shoots scheduled this year back home.  I have two weddings this summer with couples that are making photography a priority in their wedding which makes me even more excited to shoot them!  Until my next shoot here are some re-edited old favorites of mine that will forever be beautiful in my eyes.  I miss my perfect photogenic friends!